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ODIHR's Turning Words into Action to Address Intolerance (WiA) project contributes to making societies across the OSCE region more equal, inclusive, resilient and free from all forms of discrimination.
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The Words into Action to Address Intolerance project will be issuing newsletters every two months.
You have received this newsletter based on your prior engagement with ODIHR, and because we think you may be interested in our project. If you don’t want to receive the newsletters anymore, please unsubscribe using the button below.
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In March and April 2021, ODIHR continued to assist OSCE participating States in meeting their commitments in the field of tolerance and non-discrimination by providing government officials, parliamentarians, educators, and civil society with the knowledge and skills as part of the Turning Words into Action to Address Intolerance (WiA) project.
In the area of security, the WiA project and the World Jewish Congress organized two events on Raising Awareness and Building Effective Communication Between the National Security Institutions and the Jewish Community in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina; online training for Athens Bar Association lawyers on Recognizing Hate Crimes and Supporting Hate Crime Victims; and a meeting on Initiating Inter-Agency Co-operation on Addressing Hate Crime in Cyprus.
As part of the project activities in the education sector, together with United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), WiA organized a regional conference for policymakers and educators from South-Eastern Europe and a national workshop for educators from North Macedonia, on the topic of addressing anti-Semitism through education.
The project team also supported a civil society organization (CSO) in Denmark in launching their Hate Incident Reporting Platform. Additionally, the project team presented coalition building principles, processes, and challenges to Roma CSOs from the Roma Coalition in Ukraine. In light of the presentation, participants further discussed the work of their existing coalition. The later was based on ODIHR’s publication Coalition Building for Tolerance and Non-Discrimination: A Practical Guide.
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13 May 2021 | NEWSLETTER NO. 2
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Addressing Anti-Semitism through Education: Regional conference for policymakers and educators from South-East Europe and National Workshop for educators from North Macedonia
Educational systems are an essential element in any comprehensive effort to address anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance and discrimination. Schools and teachers, in particular, can play a significant role in raising young people’s awareness of the nature of anti-Semitism and its effects, and in building their resilience to the toxic narratives and ideologies that drive discrimination and hatred. Educators also have a duty to create school environments that are safe, respectful of human rights, and inclusive of Jewish and all other students. The urgency of this work is all the more pressing in the context of the current global health crisis that has created the conditions in many societies across the globe conducive to the spread of rhetoric that scapegoats, dehumanizes, and demonizes certain minority groups for being the cause of the virus and responsible for its spread. Jewish individuals and communities have been particular targets in this regard. All the while, the important work of educators to address anti-Semitism and intolerance more broadly through education depends on their knowledge, capacities, and commitment to perform this crucial task and on the opportunities they have to build knowledge and skills in this area.
To support participating States in strengthening their educational systems to effectively address anti-Semitism, as well prejudice and discrimination more broadly, ODIHR and UNESCO jointly organized two online events: a regional conference for policymakers and educators (26-27 April 2021) from 13 South-East European states and a national workshop for educators in North Macedonia (28 April).
Participants in the regional conference - education policymakers, teacher trainers, and other stakeholders, including representatives of Jewish communities and civil society had the chance to hear from experts in the field and discuss the various aspects and action needed to be effective in addressing anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance through education. Topics discussed included: how to understand and recognize anti-Semitism, effective pedagogical approaches, how to address conspiracy thinking, teaching about anti-Semitism through Holocaust education, teacher training, and examples of policy frameworks.
“If we want to raise students to become global citizens who respect human rights and stand up against anti-Semitism, we need to teach more than facts and figures. We must tell them the stories of the Jews who lived through the 20th century, and engage them in active learning”, said Fabian Rühle, European Education Director at Centropa and speaker at the conference.
ODIHR and UNESCO also presented their activities and publications that support educational systems, schools, and teachers in in this area.
A reform process is currently underway in the educational system of North Macedonia, opening opportunities to mainstream policies and practices that address anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance. The authorities and other relevant stakeholders in the country have shown interest in co-operating with ODIHR and UNESCO in order to draw from the educational materials they have created on addressing anti-Semitism in the classroom. This workshop provided ODIHR and UNESCO’s support in professional training for educators, enabling those involved to learn from experts in the field and hear about good practices on addressing anti-Semitism and intolerance more broadly.
The national workshop was co-organized by ODIHR and UNESCO, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of North Macedonia, and in co-operation with the Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia.
Relevant publications, such as ODIHR and UNESCO’s - Addressing Anti-Semitism in Schools: Training Curriculum for Primary Education Teachers and ODIHR’s Addressing Anti-Semitism through Education: Teaching Aids were translated into Macedonian.
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“Education is the most powerful tool for fighting Anti-Semitism and discrimination, violence and intolerance in general. We can prevent the destruction of democratic values in society only by educating our citizens. Therefore, we push our educational system in such a direction so that the current and new generations acquire comprehensive knowledge and learn from historical events,” said Mila Carovska, Minister of Education and Science, Republic of North Macedonia, who opened the event. “I would like to thank ODIHR and UNESCO for the preparation of the educational materials, which I believe will be of crucial importance.”
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